Cool Micro-Cars From The 50s: The Peardrop

This article serves to remind you of one of the older and rearer makes of automobiles.Show more

This short film shows us a most interesting microcar called the Peardrop, which is dated as having been filmed during 1952. Follow along and watch as it is being demonstrated darting around on the busy streets of London. The novel little egg-shaped, three-wheeled plastic microcar with a hinged two-piece windshield top appears to be powered by a small one cylinder air-cooled engine. It is noble, eye-catching and comes with a sunroof.

This is the Bouffort Peardrop, named after its constructor Victor-Albert Bouffort, a French car pioneer who was an aeronautical engineer in Paris during WW2. He applied those principles in several one-off vehicles from the late 1940's up to the mid-1950's. The Peardrop was also known as the "City-Car", and featured a Sachs engine. He made a doorless roadster based on the Peugeot 403 in 1957, followed by the Transville in 1959, and the Enville in 1961.

He made a tour through Germany to sell his design. After he made a few other cars, out of which none reached bigger productions, Bouffort stopped car building. There was a lot of interest, but nobody took out a license. He must have inspired some, because it didn't take very long before Brütsch and Tourette came up with very similar vehicles, which they claimed to be their own idea.